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During the 2016 election, Donald Trump screamed about “American carnage.” There was no “carnage” under Obama: the president was levelheaded and presided over constant job creation and economic growth. Immigration slowed to a trickle, stocks went up when he took office in the midst of the Bush recession, and more Americans were covered by health insurance than ever before.

For many centuries, local fairs and markets have been real engines of economic growth and community development. The existence of “common use” lands has also been a bulwark that the common people have relied on to protect themselves against corporate power—an avenue that enterprising individuals can use to climb the economic ladder. I believe the fairground revitalization planners should keep both of those facts in mind. We should think about the “commons” as a local campus for community education and economic development.

As the year ends, it is a time for a serious review of what has happened to our country in the first year of the Trump presidency.

Many voters, exasperated with gridlock in Washington, took a chance on Trump. His promises were big and bold and seemed to challenge “establishment” assumptions. He supposedly “gave voice” to their anger. They talked themselves into giving him a chance. Was their faith merited? Not at all.

In the midst of all the disruption, deception and chaos created by the GOP and Trump, the notions that democrats don’t know “what they stand for,” or that they are “merely against Trump” have been widely promoted. Both notions are misleading.

Here are some simple truths about the pending GOP tax legislation. The 427 page document was produced at the last minute and passed in the dead of night with illegible handwritten changes in the margins. Also no proper hearings were conducted. It includes exceptions for artic drilling and who knows what else since no one had a chance to read it. It’s not tax reform. It’s not a tax cut for most Americans. It is simply a huge transfer of wealth from the lower and middle classes to corporations and the top 1% of wealthy Americans. It doesn’t close loopholes, it creates new ones.